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Indians, Francona surprised by Maddon's comments

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Francona on Cleveland's pitching 1:30

Terry Francona breaks down Scott Kazmir, Justin Masterson and the rest of his pitching staff heading into 2013

By Adam Berry
/
MLB.com |

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Indians weren't making much of Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon's public comments in which he said reliever Cody Allen intentionally hit Rays star third baseman Evan Longoria with a pitch Saturday night.

Maddon told reporters after the Rays' 6-0 win on Saturday that there was a consensus opinion in the Rays' clubhouse that Allen was trying to hit Longoria when he tossed a pitch at his buttocks in the seventh inning, assumedly a reaction to Desmond Jennings taking out catcher Lou Marson at home plate earlier in the game.

Maddon went out of his way to say that the mandate couldn't have come from Indians manager Terry Francona, but that he "would absolutely point to their bullpen" for the plunking.

Allen was surprised to hear about Maddon's accusation Sunday morning, adding that he didn't understand it and that it wasn't true true. Instead, Allen said he was just trying to throw Longoria a breaking ball inside to keep him from extending his arms and utilizing all his power, and that pitch got away from him.

Francona didn't understand Maddon's comments, either.

"I have my hands full managing our team. I think a lot of Joe, and I really respect him a lot," Francona said. "I just can't manage two teams. One's hard enough for me.

"He got a little ahead of me on that one. He lost me on that one. I'm not sure how to answer it because he got a little ahead of me."

Adam Berry is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @adamdberry. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.